Basheer murder: Conspiracy to kill an innocent Muslim was hatched in jail

Mangaluru, Jan 24: Ahmed Basheeer (48), who was hacked to death by a gang of communal goons earlier this month at Kottara Chowki area in the city, was in fact a random victim of conspiracy hatched by jailbirds, according to police.

A resident of Akashbhavan, Basheer was running a fast food restaurant near Koattara Chowki for past one year. He breathed his last on January 7 at a hospital in the city, four days after a gang of miscreants attacked him with sharp weapons on January 3.

Within days after the murder, the police had managed to catch six accused: Kishan Poojary, Shrijit, Dhanush Poojary, Sandesh Kotyan, Pushparaj and Lathesh. A few among them are Keralites who had come here only with the intention of killing a Muslim man to create unrest.

Speaking to media persons on Wednesday, T R Suresh, the Commissioner of Mangaluru City Police, said that after subjecting the above accused to rigours interrogation, the investigators came to know that they had just executed a conspiracy hatched in the prison on the same day.

The police have identified the conspirators as Mithun alias Kalladka Mithun (28), son of Narayana Poojary from Goltamajalu in Bantwal; Tilakraj Shetty (28), son of Vishwanath Shetty from Akashbhavan, Mangaluru; Raju alias Rajesh (21), son of Shekhara Poojary from Farangipet; and Anup (30), son of K Narayana from Akashbhavan, Manglauru. Among them the first three were in Mangaluru prison for various reasons while the fourth miscreant played the role of coordinator between the conspirators and murderers.

After a gang of miscreants murdered Deepak Rao at Katipalla on January 3, Kalladka Mithun wanted to eliminate at least one Muslim man. He discussed the plan with two other inmates – Tilakraj and Raju. The trio managed to contact Anup, a resident of Akashbhavan and convinced him to arrange a few “activists who love to kill Muslims”. Anup, who knew that Basheer goes home alone after closing his restaurant, chose him as a target and guided the killers. The plan was executed on the same night.

Mr Suresh said that the names of the conspirators have now been included in the murder case. Though Kalladka Mithun, Tilakraj and Raju were lodged in Mangaluru prison when they hatched the conspiracy, they were shifted to Bengaluru, Ballari and Belagavi jails respectively following a clash in the jail.

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